SANTA CLARA — One Direction suffered what appeared to be a huge loss when Zayn Malik, one of the group”s five founding members, announced he was leaving the fold in March.

Yet, the British boy band hasn”t really missed a beat since Malik exited (reportedly due to stress-related issues) and certainly appeared no worse for wear during its highly anticipated concert on Saturday at Levi”s Stadium in Santa Clara.

The capacity crowd — numbering some 50,000 strong — had been waiting a long time for this occasion, given that One Direction skipped the Bay Area during its massive stadium trek last year.

The group — now operating as a quartet — rewarded fans” patience with an expertly-paced 25-song set that stretched approximately two hours and charmed most everyone in attendance.

Malik, of course, was probably missed by some fans — that is when they weren”t busy standing in long lines to buy $20 One Direction license plates and $35 One Direction hats at the booming merchandise booths or Instagramming selfies of themselves from the show.

Yes, One Direction is still heading in the right direction — at least in terms of remaining, by far, the most popular boy band in the known universe. And that”s likely to be the case as long as the band has standout star Harry Styles, who can be thought of as One Direction”s Justin Timberlake.

Following an opening set by Swedish electropop act Icona Pop (best known for the hit “I Love It”), One Direction sent the crowd into a frenzy as it took the stage just before 9 p.m. The quartet opened with a double-shot from its latest album, 2014”s “Four” — “Clouds” and “Steal My Girl” — and then went back to 2013”s “Midnight Memories” for “Little Black Dress.”

One Direction continued to mix and match tunes from its four studio albums throughout the evening, meeting with shrill cries of approval from the mostly young, female audience at each turn.

The group is different from the traditional boy band — and the difference is more pronounced on the live stage. Most notably, these guys don”t do synchronized dance routines, a proud staple of the boy band arsenal since basically the beginning of time. Instead, these four singers — Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson — just sort of bounce about the stage, interacting with fans, tossing water about and goofing around like normal guys. They seem to go out of their way to downplay their superstar images, continually giving all the credit for their fame and fortune to their fans.

All of which helps compensate for the band”s rather meh songbook. There is some variety to the music itself — going from wishy-washy Whitesnake-like pop-rock to bland love ballads — but everything still sounds like it should be played on Radio Disney. It”s unnervingly inoffensive, like a plate of mashed potatoes without any seasoning.

The band effectively countered with plenty of personality, talking affably to the crowd after nearly every song. Each of the four characters was likable, especially Styles, who just sparkles with charisma.

One Direction closed the main set with a sturdy take on “Story of My Life,” before returning to thrill the crowd once again with an ample encore that included “You & I” and “Act My Age.”